Laura Arecco, CharlotteMember Since December 2009Artist Statement Laura Arecco was born in Lexington, SC and currently resides in Charlotte, NC. After graduating from Clemson University with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and receiving a Master's degree in Art Education at the University of South Carolina, she began teaching middle school art full-time in Fort Mill, SC. Laura paints various subject matter; however, she really enjoys painting children and animals. Laura's father has been an active amateur photographer for most of her life. As a result, photography is one of her favorite hobbies as this was a favorite past-time shared between she and her father for many years. When on their "photo-safaris" together, they photographed children actively playing in their natural environment. She uses numerous of her father's photographs as well as her own as inspiration for her paintings. Since Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Photorealism are her favorite art movements, vibrant color tends to take precedence in her works.

When deciding on what to paint next, Laura chooses a theme and then paints several pieces within the topic. The most recent theme she is currently implementing into her art is based on using bold, bright, unrealistic colors for human skin tones. She uses these 'in your face' bold color schemes to emphasize the importance of 'color' over race, posing the question, "If you could be any color, what color would you be?"